As regular visitors to this blog know I do like to give a mix of blog posts and todays one is about towels! However, if you are looking for a few recipes ideas, there are some here and here ...
But do please read on.
As you may have read here ... Monday was laundry/wash day. Amongst the wash were towels which were predominantly blue, but like those in the image above do have a line near the edge. In fact when I put them away I tend to stack them with the lines facing the same way... it just looks neat and tidy.
But! Have you ever wondered why they have lines near the edge, I was a little curious and found out more, which I now share.
Emma Seymour, the associate director of the Textiles, Paper & Apparel Lab for GH US, explains the real reason for these bath towel lines. She says it's called a "dobby border" and explained why most (though not all) bath towels have them.
Many people assume the line on the towels is purely decorative, or that it's meant to make it easier to see that all your towels are folded and facing the same way when they're stacked in the linen cupboard. But according to Seymour, the lines on bath towels aren't merely decoration. They actually serve to make the towel more durable.
Below Emma Seymour explains exactly why your bath towels have those lines.
What's the purpose of a towel line?
'It's the dobby border, common on many bath towels,' says Seymour. 'It helps the towel keep its shape because it offers more structure than if it was entirely terrycloth. It also helps prevent fraying.'
What is a dobby border?
A dobby border is a woven strip near a towel's ends. It can appear as a single strip or multiple, but it is always located near a towel's edges.
According to Seymour, 'Testers tend to like the look of the border, but most don't comment on it if a towel lacks a dobby border,' meaning it's not a make-or-break feature for most customers.
Do towels need a dobby border?
Not necessarily. A towel without a dobby border will still absorb, as is its primary function. However, it may not have the same durability and longevity as one with a dobby border.
It's about weighing out what's most important to you when shopping. If the price is right, and you like the look of a towel without a dobby border, buy it. There are other factors that contribute to a towel's durability and performance, such as fibre content, fabric weight, construction and more, not just the dobby border. So the towel you select may still go the distance.
Many people assume the line on the towels is purely decorative, or that it's meant to make it easier to see that all your towels are folded and facing the same way when they're stacked in the linen cupboard. But according to Seymour, the lines on bath towels aren't merely decoration. They actually serve to make the towel more durable.
Below Emma Seymour explains exactly why your bath towels have those lines.
What's the purpose of a towel line?
'It's the dobby border, common on many bath towels,' says Seymour. 'It helps the towel keep its shape because it offers more structure than if it was entirely terrycloth. It also helps prevent fraying.'
What is a dobby border?
A dobby border is a woven strip near a towel's ends. It can appear as a single strip or multiple, but it is always located near a towel's edges.
According to Seymour, 'Testers tend to like the look of the border, but most don't comment on it if a towel lacks a dobby border,' meaning it's not a make-or-break feature for most customers.
Do towels need a dobby border?
Not necessarily. A towel without a dobby border will still absorb, as is its primary function. However, it may not have the same durability and longevity as one with a dobby border.
It's about weighing out what's most important to you when shopping. If the price is right, and you like the look of a towel without a dobby border, buy it. There are other factors that contribute to a towel's durability and performance, such as fibre content, fabric weight, construction and more, not just the dobby border. So the towel you select may still go the distance.
Above words and image from article here
Now ... out of interest what predominant colour are your towels and do they have a dobby border?
Do please share in the comments below.
All the best Jan
35 comments:
Fascinating, Jan. You know we've had towels before that have several of the 2 or 3 banded borders and after awhile they bunch up. But I've never had a problem with the single thin dobby border.
Light blue; yes. Linda in Kansas
Well, I learned something new today! I had never heard of a dobby border or the reason. My towels are light and dark gray and yes, they have the border!
Never gave much thought on towels.
...I never knew that there was so much to know about towels.
The predominant color of our towels is dark brown for the bath towels and tan color for the hand towels and wash cloths. And I had to chuckle when I read that you like the line to face the same way when you put the towels away. I'm the same way and for the same reason...it makes everything look nice and tidy...not that my husband cares, but I do. lol
My old towels were dark blue as that is the accent color in the bathroom though the theme is ocean. They did have the dobby border and I never knew about it until now. The new towels are large beach towels in shades of blue. Some have sea turtles, whales, marbled in blue, white, gold, and one has fish like an aquarium. The new towels are made of microfiber. No dobby border.
Very interesting-Christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
Very interesting facts, Jan. Thank you for sharing.
I certainly didn't know this. Interesting!
i enjoy the variety of information you share. interesting about the towels, we are currently using white towels!!
How interesting. That has been lost on me for all these years
I don't have a dominant towel colour, I have sveral colours that go with my shower curtains which I have three of and change them when I am in the mood. My current curtain has a rainforest design in greens so the towels are green. I have navy blue, sky blue, red, white, yellow and melon towels. Some with matching bathmats. Some have dobby borders, some don't, some have three borders at one end and none at the other.
I'm a white towel fan, although my hand towels are a dusky pink. And I prefer not to have a dobby border. I wonder what these choices reveal about me :)
LOL, you really made me get up and walk to the bathroom. Ingo´s has a pattern on the other end and mine not at all and yes, mine is crumbly.
Ingo´s is grey, mine white-grey. But we have more colors around.
Interesting article. Who invented standard sizes of towels?
God bless.
I don't much like towels with dobby borders (which I'd never heard of before, so thank you!) I don't really know why I don't care for them. My towels are a mixture of colours and I keep them too long before relegating them to duster use. I don't like white towels, simply because they don't stay white and soon look dingy, ditto white underwear, tee shirts, bedding . . . it must be the way I launder things. 😟🙁
Interesting. My towels are predominantly beige to match the bathroom, but I do have some other colours: blues from when the bathroom in my last house was blue and even some orange ones.
I haven't bought towels with the dobby border in a long time. I find that the border shrinks, while the remaining doesn't and it makes the towels look weird! Our master bath towels are a white background with different shades of grey stripes.
Red and blue with dobby border !!! interesting the posting! hugs Elke
I desperately need some new towels for the little upstairs bathroom. They were cream colored and when our water system stopped working for awhile they kind of got a rusty dingy color-ugh!!!!! Downstairs in the main bathroom I have darker colors, just because it's safer with a water-rust problem. (We're on a well, not town supplied water).
That is really interesting!
Interesting facts, I have never heard of the dobby border. Most of my towels are blue! Take care, enjoy your day!
I didn't know the reason for that, Jan.
I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.
Our towels do not have the dobby border, but in the case of two of them, I think they're more beach towels than bath towels. And to provide anecdotal evidence to support what the women in the article said, there is fraying, primarily along the edge. I have mended and patched this. This was interesting to read so thanks for sharing!
All of my towels have boarders and I have every color known to man. If a new color comes out or if there is one I don't own. I have to have it. Also matching hand towels and wash clothes. I'm a towel hoarder. LOL
Good to know, I didn't know that! :-D
I have towels of all colours! Personally, I only every go for white {because they go with everything and I used to move around a lot} but have inherited towels of all colours! I often bind them to match my bathroom suite, so fraying is never that much of a problem.
Never thought about those lines. Yes, my towels do have dobby lines. I have white and blue towels.
I have no idea!
REPLY TO
Victor S E Moubarak who said ...
Interesting article. Who invented standard sizes of towels?
God bless.
Hello Victor
Have a read of the 'towel' information here ... there are so many different towels and sizes, quite mind-boggling!
Did you know there's even a 'Happy Towel Day' ?
It's on the 25th May!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towel
All the best Jan
Who knew? And that's why I like blogging -- you learn something new every day!
This is very interesting. I find that with some towels, that dobby border shrinks and pulls the towel tighter at one end. I also like to fold my towels and have everything facing the same way!
I didn't know about that border. Interesting!!
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